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Wadena police investigate a string of scams

The Wadena Police Department has been busy trying to avert a string of scam attempts in the area recently.

According to police files, the following incidents were handled in a four-day period between May 1 and May 4:

 A man reported he had been contacted by an attorney's office in Jamaica that requested his financial assistance in catching the scammers, which would lead to a reward for the man. On May 1, he was at a local business attempting to wire the money when managers became suspicious and contacted police. On that day, he was planning to wire $600 to the alleged attorney's office. The officer asked the man how much he had sent to Jamaica, and he said he had sent at least $10,000 to different people working with the investigation. The officer advised the man not to send any more money to anyone. The man also mentioned another case in Otter Tail County where he had sent money. The Otter Tail County investigator was contacted, and he said the man had been scammed out of more than $80,000 in that case, which involved an insurance scam.

 On May 1, a woman reported to an officer that she had revealed her Social Security number to a caller who claimed to be contacting her about an overdue cell phone bill. The police advised the woman to monitor her bank accounts and have a credit check done.

 A woman went to the Wadena Police Department to report she had been contacted by e-mail and regular mail from a suspicious outfit that was offering her a job, but she'd need to purchase certain equipment to be able to do the job. The woman hadn't sent any money, and was suspicious of a legitimate-looking check she received for $2,700, which was drawn on a Florida account, but said it was coming from a California man. The letter had a Las Vegas postmark. The woman said she didn't share any personal information with the potential scammers, but was advised to monitor her accounts and credit report anyway.

 On May 4, police were called to a business where a man was trying to wire money to Canada and they were suspicious. The man said he was trying to wire the tax money to collect on a cash prize in Canada that he had supposedly won. He was attempting to wire $280 on that day, and said he had previously sent $600. He was told by the officer that the prize is a common scam, and if the scammers called him again he should tell them he has talked to police and then hang up the phone.